There are various types of facial scrubs, but all share the property of being abrasive. One type of scrub is made from small particles such as ground fruit seeds or other vegetable material. They are designed to act like miniature sandpaper particles to remove dead skin cells from the skin surface. While facial scrubs might succeed in removing waxy blackhead plugs, the skin surface is left abraded, raw, or at least irritated. This irritation leads to inflammation and then sets the stage for making acne worse and often becoming more bacteria-infested.

Another type of facial scrub is made from synthetic materials in the form of a cloth or pad such as buff-Puff TM. Frequently, the companies that make these materials claim that they will gently exfoliate dead skin cells, so we tend to use them over and over. In between uses, these scrub pads are usually placed in the shower soap dish or some other warm, moist place. These conditions make an ideal culture medium for bacteria from the “exfoliated skin” to multiply overnight. The next time the scrub is used, acne breakouts can be re-infected!